Donnie Wahlberg just hinted at some potential Blue Bloods cameos on Boston Blue — so which of his former costars could reprise their roles in the CBS spinoff?
Wahlberg, 55, recently weighed in on how Blue Bloods and Boston Blue would crossover, telling Fox News Digital, “The viewers are saying, ‘How do we keep going with a Blue Bloods spinoff without the whole family?’ And I share that. How do we do that, right?”
The actor noted that there have been conversations about navigating how to introduce Boston Blue while still honoring the Blue Bloods legacy. He also teased that a member of the Reagan family is just a “phone call away.”
“Now, it’s just Danny going to this new world, but I can’t say a lot about it — but I could say, if he’s a Reagan, it will never be just Danny,” he added. “There’ll always be a Reagan a phone call away.”
Wahlberg continued: “And the traditions that the Reagans have, Danny wouldn’t abandon those traditions.”
Blue Bloods, which premiered in 2010, followed the lives of the Reagan family, many of whom work for the NYPD under the leadership of NYC police commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). Frank’s father, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), was also central to the show alongside Frank’s children: daughter Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) and sons Danny (Wahlberg) and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes).
The future of Blue Bloods made headlines in 2023 when the police procedural was renewed but the cast and producers agreed to take a 25 percent pay cut. Selleck, 80, later addressed the official cancellation news and questioned the decision.
“I’m kind of frustrated,” he told TV Insider in October 2024. “During those last eight shows, I haven’t wanted to talk about an ending for Blue Bloods but about it still being wildly successful.”
Selleck argued that Blue Bloods should have remained on the air, saying, “I’m not going to turn into a bitter old guy saying, ‘Get off my lawn.’ I don’t believe in holding grudges, but if you were to say to the television network, ‘Here’s a show you can program in the worst time slot you got, and it is going to guarantee you winning Friday night for the next 15 years,’ it would be almost impossible to believe.”
At the time, Selleck said his frustration came from the show always being “taken for granted because it performed from the get-go.”
“So, how do I feel?” he continued. “It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out. I remember after the weekend [of the final episode’s shoot], I said, ‘I’ve got to get to bed early tonight because I have to do my dialogue for Monday.’ Well, there was no Monday. It’s just going to take a while.”
Wahlberg, meanwhile, was outspoken about finding a way for the show to continue.
“Four years ago we were in this room and none of us knew if we would ever see each other again for a lot worse reasons. Maybe one of the worst days of my life, and I’m sure in a lot of your lives,” Donnie said in reference to the COVID pandemic in a video shared by CBS in August 2024 from the last day of filming. “We didn’t know what was going to happen in this world, and somehow we got another few years together and God willing we’ll get some more time together to do something magical again. I would just be honored to work with any of you again and I pray that that can happen, one way or another, I won’t give up trying. Let’s have a great night together, we f—ing earned it.”
CBS has since picked up Boston Blue, which picks up as Danny “takes on a position” with the Boston P.D. “Once in Boston, he is paired with detective Lena Peters, the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family,” read the official logline.
Wahlberg told Fox News Digital that it was a “challenge” to say yes to Boston Blue, adding, “I kept saying to myself, you know, if I’m really sincere about wanting Blue Bloods to carry on, here’s an opportunity to do it.”